Day 57: The Next Beyoncé

 Course: Day off in Pittsburgh!

We woke up and headed downstairs out of the hotel for a sponsored breakfast on the patio. We had everything from croissants to egg casserole to coffee and pastries. It was amazing to have a feast at breakfast for once instead of dinner. We then walked as a team over to our friendship visit with the UCP – United Cerebral Palsy. I remember turning the corner and looking through the window to see a ton of people in one room in wheel chairs. I didn’t really know what to expect this time around. We went inside and were instantly submerged into that very room. I thought to myself that I didn’t have many friendship visits left, so what if I were able to just make one visit the most meaningful for at least one person.

This was my visit.

I went to an empty table and began talking to a client there. Here name was Allie and like the other clients there she had Cerebral Palsy. I began pulling every card I had in the conversation book. Every topic, every joke, everything. I wasn’t letting this one go. Allie liked to sing and play Wii singing games. I told her she was the next Beyoncé and she smiled wider than I’ve ever seen. Throughout our time together we made each other laugh relentlessly. She had a huge crush on one of the caretakers there, so I kept threatening to call him over. Every time I said anything like, “Oooooooh there goes Brian!” she would blush and tell me not to say anything too loudly. When it came time for dinner Allie asked me to feed her and I gladly obliged. Feeding her was a pretty humbling experience since she was older than me. It was tough to say goodbye, but before I left she reminded me that she would remember me. I can’t wait to send someone back next year to see how she’s doing.

We went to dinner at the Woodlands Camp for teens with developmental disabilities. They go there to learn how they can become more independent since a lot of them are losing any funding that they’ve been receiving. A few of our cyclists volunteered to give inspirational speeches in front of the camp. It was great to hear guys talk about how they’ve overcome difficulties this summer.